Frankenstein (2025) Review

By: Matt Overton

With Frankenstein (2025), esteemed auteur Guillermo del Toro reunites with his beloved monster genre and Netflix’s payroll. His reimagining of Pinocchio was his last Streamer that I was lucky enough to see at the AFI, and I happily returned to see his latest in 35mm. What I unfortunately discovered is that del Toro’s reimagining of Mary Shelley’s cornerstone novel was completely Netflix-ified. I’d imagine most of the blame can be placed at the feet of the streaming conglomerate, but some puzzling writing decisions damaged this production.

Enter Jacob Elordi as The Creature. This should have been the first alarm bell, but I had comfortably placed my trust in del Toro’s capable hands. Casting one of the hottest up-and-comers as the gothic horror icon was definitely a decision, and his characterization is one of the film’s biggest flaws. The equally sultry Oscar Isaac is the madman who creates Elordi. His reasoning for this lifelong obsession was born out of spite for his father, an exacting doctor with precise expectations. His overbearing nature sparks something obsessive in young Victor, and this spiteful drive is what carries him forward.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Frankenstein, and del Toro maintains a healthy faithfulness to the text. However, in his career exploring the morbid and grotesque, he has developed a sensitive and emotional connection to his monsters. With his latest film, that gentle touch seems to have grown into something overtly soft. I love GDT and very much enjoyed doing a watch-through of his filmography, but with Frankenstein, he went a little too soft on the monster. There was never a scene where the frightening nature of The Creature was fully realized. Instead, he’s played completely as a tragic character in need of sympathy. In his quest to humanize Frankenstein’s monster, del Toro loses a lot of the charm of the original character.

Frankenstein is simply too long and deviates too much into del Toro’s softer tendencies. However, the biggest flaw is the Netflix-ification of this film. I don’t know how much differently this would have looked had it not been made with Netflix’s money, but the whole movie has that hideous sheen to it that is ubiquitous with this Streamer’s originals.

Frankenstein has proven to be a rare GDT misfire. He has proven time and again that storybook myths and fables deserve a place in the canon, and his filmography is evidence of that hard work. His ability to legitimize and ground these fantastical tales is one of his strongest aspects as a filmmaker, so this failure is a real surprise. Either he took his challenge overboard, or there were some anti-art buffoons at Netflix that interfered. Regardless, I will be eagerly anticipating whatever del Toro serves up next.